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31st January

Todays highlights ...A sparrowhawk flew low through the olive grove, nearly taking Sue's ear off as it tore past her head when it emerged from the trees. The closest Sue has been to a flying raptor, I don't know which of them was the most shocke, Oh yes I do... Sue!!! a short while later a male Hen Harrier flew past the house then doen into the lower fields where it sat for a time on a straw bale. A good day for raptors too with several species seen

30th January

A dark morph Booted Eagle gave us a surprise this morning as we watched two griffons flying nearby it came in over our heads very low from behind seems the LLB is not the only one to get a shock !!

Later we went for a walk around the area, a thrush sized bird flew nearby with a strange call, a long chattering flight call that we have not heard before. It circled us twice at a distance calling all the while, it disappeared along the beach, we could only put it as a possible Song Thrush. Later a male Hen harrier flew across the road in front of us.

28th January

Todays highlight... A Long-legged Buzzard removed from its resting place in a sneaky attack by one of our local common buzzards. We have seen buzzards swooping onto other buzzards but have never witnessed one being thrown through the air , this poor rufinus wondered what had hit it as it did a full somersault and landed in a bush. The common returned and did a flyover but did not attack again. The rufinus, well he stayed put for some time beofre dropping down to a lower rock with some cover behind him !!!

Singles of green sandpiper and little egret have appeared at Kalivaki meadows, but the former is very wary. The egret is very accommodating!

Little Egret....Egretta garzetta

Had a drive out this morning to our favourite area south of Ano Mallaki. Even here it was unusually unproductive, and only photos are of a distant pair of kestrels, and two chukars. Only other birds of note were c50 jackdaws feeding near Aghios Andreas, Rethymno.

Kestrel...Falco tinnunculus

Chukar...Alectoris chukar

25th January

A trip report has been added to the 2012 archive from Jessica Fromont and Maël Lelièvre 5th -26th Septemberwithpictures added... A couple of nice sightings were Red-breasted Flycatcher and a Pygmy Cormorant which we think may be the one Nikos found later in December. Thank you very much Maël and Jessica.

Still very quiet for birding we could only add a couple of Griffon Vulture and a Sparrowhawk Yellow-legged Gull 12....Hooded Crow 16.... Common Buzzard 1.... Chaffinch.... Linnet.... Greenfinch....Crested Lark....Cetti's Warbler....Chiffchaff....Serin....Goldfinch....Italian Sparrow Great Tit....White Wagtail.

The anemones are really coming into bloom now with hundreds in flower in our olive grove

Crown Anemone....Anemone coronaria

24th January

Weather....0900...17.6oC....Sea, calm....Vis,6 miles....Cloud 60%....Wind S,6m/s....1010mb. Mostly sunny the wind increased (11m/s) as did the temperature 20.6oC at noon. Thunderstorm late in the evening.

23rd January

At home we had few birds, Yellow-legged Gull 20+ Hooded Crow usual flock of 20+.... Italian Sparrow.... Chaffinch several singing a nice sound for January !....Linnet 2, also singing.... Meadow Pipit and Sardinian Warbler.

A spur of ther moment decision saw us heading for Aygia ! Where on route we spotted alongside the road 3 Cattle Egret. A little later a dark morph Booted Eagle and a couple of Common Buzzard. White Wagtail....Stonechat....Crested Lark....Goldfinch....Black Redstart.... Italian Sparrow and 40+ Yellow-legged Gull.

Aygia..... Shortly after we arrived we met (Panos 600 ) who told us that he had just been across the nearby fields and the 3 Cattle Egret were still there, so our assumption that the Kissamos three were those was blown away. Panos also told us that there are now thought other Black Vultures on Crete, maybe 3 individuals....photos are being examined. !!!! more news we hope later.

A good afternoon where we watched the cormorant coming in to roost with a superb adult displaying. The large flock of starlings was constantly harrassed by the pergrine and sparrowhawks as they sought somewhere to settle for the night. A great spectacle as they flew across the face of the moon and the White Mountains. The nice sighting of the black kite which in turn was harrassed by the hooded crows that would not let it settle for the night either.

Our photos for the day....

Cattle Egret...Bubulcus ibis

Booted Eagle....Aquila pennata, the smaller bird is Crag Martin

Cormorant....Phalacrocorax carbo ssp sinensis juvenile

25 birds at roost sight

LittleGrebe....Tachybaptus ruficollis

Starlings ....Sternus vulgaris

Black Kite....Milvus migrans

We left as darkness fell and the moon shone over the lake

21st January

SEE YESTERDAYS ENTRY FROM NIKOS..... NOW CONFIRMED AFTER A FEW YEARS OF SPECULATION ON THE STATUS OF BLACK VULTURE ON CRETE, NIKOS PHOTOGRAPHED TWO INDIVIDUALS SOUTH OF DHIKTI.... WELL DONE NIKOS .

CAN WE HOPE FOR A PAIR !!....TO BREED AND JOIN OUR LAMMERGEIER AND GRIFFONS. !!! (24th January....It is thought there may be 3 individuals, photos are being examined )

nother day of having to get jobs done, so little in the way of birding. Species are few as we had no time to look. Yellow-legged Gull 50+ still hanging around the fields.... Chaffinch.... Hooded Crow 20+....Greenfinch.... Sardinian Warbler....Raven.... Common Buzzard.... Kestrel.... Crested lark..

Awoke to the most amazing sunrise this morning , don't think I have ever seen one quite so spectacular....This image taken at 0720

Today it was fertilize the olive trees day. No artificial stuff for us, a local shepherd sent in fifty sheep and their lambs, they munched their way through the grove for the morning and will return tomorrow for another go. Dung means insects, insects mean birds !!

19th January

A walk around the local area through olive groves and grazing fields then along the beach produced large numbers of White Wagtail seen in several flocks feeding in the lower fields. other birds seen ....Yellow-legged Gull 50+....Hooded Crow....Cetti's Warbler.... Blackbird.... Common Buzzard.... White Wagtail 100+.... Song Thrush 1.... Goldfinch .... Chaffinch.... Corn Bunting.... Linnet....Serin.... Chiffchaff....Meadow Pipit.... Starling 10....Griffon Vulture 1. Sardinian Warbler.

From Alan.....Called in at Moronis today and found several dogs roaming along the river, and fishermen - just a green sandpiper, little and great egret seen. Nearer the harbour, two terns in different plumages. We drove on through Tavronitis and Kolymbari, but nothing worth mentioning. Nearer to Kaloudiana, we had a dark phase booted eagle, mixing with three buzzards.

Sandwich Tern.....Sterna sandvicensis

Booted Eagle.... Aquila pennata, dark morph

18th January

Not a good day for birding at all our list is very small, the lower fields took on the appearance of a superb wetland, much like it used to be before the farmers moved in !! . A Sparrowhawk was seen on there, where it put up Crested Lark.... Linnet and Corn Bunting a large group of Yellow-legged Gull 70+....Hooded Crow 20+....Common Buzzard....Black Redstart... Chaffinch were all that was seen in this area from the window !!! A Cetti's Warbler was heard in the gully to the rear

14th January

Highlights of the day ..On the way back from town a pair of Kentish Plover on the rocks along the beach road . A male Hen Harrier went very low and close past the house late in the afternoon heading onto Gramvousa.

Also from Nikos a nice find for this time of year a Great reed Warbler at Rapaniana near kolymbari and a long-legged Buzzard at Potamida near Kissamos

Long-legged Buzzard....Buteo rufinus

Reed Warbler....Acrocephalus scirpaceus

From Harry.... Called at Moronis this morning, have been there very infrequently this winter. There was a few people fishing this morning, so not a lot in the way of birds, a couple of Shag out in the bay, a Great White Egret was at far end of bay, first time I have seen it this winter, Little Ringed Plover, Redshank, Common Sandpiper, Little Egret was all that Pam and I spotted.

There was a few fishing this morning,so not a lot in the way of birds,a couple of divers out in the bay,too far away for me to be certain what they are,Great White Egretwas at far end of bay,first time i have seen it this winter,Ringed Plover,Redshank,Common Sandpiper,Little Egret was all that Pam and I spotted.

cannot blame them for trying to earn a crust somehow.

There was a few fishing this morning,so not a lot in the way of birds,a couple of divers out in the bay,too far away for me to be certain what they are,Great White Egret

was at far end of bay,first time i have seen it this winter,Ringed Plover,Redshank,Common Sandpiper,Little Egret was all that Pam and I spotted.

13th January

A distant aquila over Gramvousa which we could not positively ID was either spotted or lesser spotted Eagle. A griffon vulture appeared from low somewhere behind the house and flew into the lower fields. I went down with the camera to get some shots and was lucky to get the following ones, as the bird had landed in a field of crops and the farmer just happened to be there!! I arrived minutes later and the farmer was shouting at the bird which soon took off and headed a short distance onto Gramvousa where it landed and stayed for some time, it later flew over the house circling to gain height.

From Harry ....Had a drive around the Elos area today, very quite, drove back to Afrata for lunch. On the way home spotted a couple of Kestrels perched on trees, a Cattle Egret flying along the coastline towards Kolymbari. Just through Kolymbari a Whinchat (immature 1st winter), I think, sat on a wall.

flying along the coastline towards Kolumbari.Just through Kolumbari a Whinchat(immature 1st winter),i think,sat on a wall.

Seven images by Nikos, from Moronis have been added to the 10th January

10th January

Few species from home before we set out for the day to Omalos and late PM at Agyia. Yellow-legged Gull 20+ and Hooded Crow !!

On route to Omalos....along the beach road a single Kentish Plover....

Kentish Plover.....Charadrius alexandrinus

Cormorant 1.... Stonechat ....Black Redstart....White Wagtail. Just before Laki village a flock of 2000+ Starlings swirling above the road, making some spectacular patterns in the sky and a single male Blue Rock Thrush was seen a little farther on.

Some of the Starling.....above Laki

The road up to Omalos past Laki is being " improved " the narrow road is being widened and is in a real mess with heavy machines removing the edges that made this area so scenic, what the tourists came to see is being being removed !! We managed to get through to the plateau having come across several cars that had attempted to get past the overnight ice and failed, we arrived on the plateau after some terrific snowy scenery and parked at the last taverna before setting off towards the entrance to Samaria on foot. The silence and chill up here is amazing but few birds were about, we only saw one common buzzard. The wonderfully blue skies were devoid of raptors and only a few hooded crows and a couple of raven made marks in that blue !! We saw..... Woodlark....Jay....Raven....Blackbird....Goldfinch....Wren.... Italian Sparrow....Robin.... Greenfinch.... Common Buzzard and a first for us up here on the plateau, a Song Thrush, which decided not to have its picture taken and was off like a shot.

Woodlark.....Lullula arborea

Note the long hind claw....

Normally we get most of our bird shots on the fences, today its the turn of the hoar frost

Raven....Corvus corax

Some general snow views have been added to the Omalos and White Mountain section in "Birding Sites" and some of Agyia added to that page also.

We arrived at Agyia at 4.45 in the late afternoon with the sun now low it was not too glarey... Our first sighting was Panos, who emerged from the reeds where he had been trying to photograph ducks, he was just leaving and we now had the lake to ourselves. We quickly located the pintails and other waterfowl and had the pleasure of watching 25 Cormorant coming in singles and pairs to roost in the tree on the eastern side.... Our species for here.. Marsh Harrier...Sparrowhawk....Crag Martin....Hooded Crow....Chiffchaff...Cormorant 25....Coot....Moorhen....Little Grebe....Pintail....Gadwall .... Ferruginous Duck....Teal....Shoveler....Wigeon....Pochard....Grey Heron....Tufted Duck.... Common Buzzard....Starling....Cetti's Warbler....Mallard. On the way home a Barn Owl flew low over the road.

Cormorant....Phalacrocorax carbo

........Roosting cormorants

Cormorant, Ferruginous Duck , Mallard and terrapin

Tufted Duck....Aythya fuligula

Shoveler....Anas clypeata

Pochard....Aythya ferina and Wigeon....Anas penelope

Gadwall....Anas strepera and female wigeon

Wigeon....Anas penelope

Pintail, Pochard and Garganey

We didn't took the telescope today, so may have missed some species, especially the Great Bittern which we have yet to see here, but is overwintering and was seen today by Mike Meecham along with ....Booted Eagle (pale) , Marsh Harrier (fem) ,Great Bittern, Kingfisher, Stonechat, Cormorant, Gadwall, Widgeon, Mallard, Shoveller, Teal, Pochard, Coot, Moorhen, Little Grebe. Thanks for the report Mike.

Also thanks to Harry Lough who was also at the lake today !!...............................Pam and I spent a few hours at the lake today,snow line was a lot lower on the mountains after yesterdays weather,lovely sunny day today but rather crisp. Nothing different from my last couple of visits apart from a Meadow Pipit, Ferruginous Duck, Gadwall(female) Stonechat(female) Grey Wagtail(juvenile).Thanks Harry

9th January

Todays highlights, a nice adult male Hen Harrier drifted past and headed onto Gramvousa, Yellow-legged gulls were noisly feeding were lambs have just been born, fighting off the hooded crows to get at the birthing remains. Two sparrowhawks kept the pigeons alert as they repeatedly made mock dives into their small flocks.

8th January

We took a two hour walk around the local area ( Kaliviani and Beach ) nothing much about at all apart from many gulls feeding in the fields. One possible Armenian Gull but with our limited gull ID skills we could not say for sure , so no tick in the box for that one today !

Had a quick look along our local coastline for gull activity after the wet and windy weather. At Petres a few Med gulls and yellow-legged were quite distant from the beach. One 1st winter bird had me thinking it was a common gull - not much difference is there. (please confirm though!) Think so Alan any gull experts out there ? Colin. At Georgioupoli, an adult Med gull was patrolling the main car-park - this is only the second time I have seen this species at Georgioupoli.

5th January

We had intended to take a trip to Elafonisi on Monday in the hope of seeing Alan's bird of yesterday the Goldcrest. A text from Nikos to say he would come by today to pick us up seemed to good an opportunity to miss ! A big thanks to Alan for the location, were we found two birds still in the same tree !!!. We spent a good hour and a half watching these delightful little birds at they flitted , feeding in the Juniper trees. We broke for lunch and went in search of other species. We found the Adrocymbium rechingeri in flower in a largish area to the west of the lagoon and several different flowers/plants. Birding was pretty poor on specie numbers but we had some nice close common buzzard encounters and in all a generally good day. Thanks to Nikos and Angeliki for a great day.

From Alan.... We made the long trip to Elafonisi today, hoping for something unusual along the beaches and coastline. All we had were yellow-legged gulls and a cormorant! As we explored more of the beach eastwards, we found ourselves listening to the muted call of a goldcrest. We pitched near one of the trees the call was coming from and had our picnic. During the next hour we had intermittent sightings of two goldcrests with our binoculars, but frustration with the camera! Only back home did I find that I had just caught one on camera. This is a new Crete species for us.

A walk around the Kissamos port area did not produce anything different

From Alan....

What a washout yesterday!

Sunny this morning, so had a look at Kalivaki and Georgioupoli Viewpoint. Nothing in and around flooded meadows at Kalivaki, other than small flocks of serins and pairs of stonechat. At the Viewpoint, the pygmy cormorant has been evicted from its usual place by a pair of great cormorants, and today the little one could not be found. Probably still there somewhere. An unexpected sighting of a single female pintail, and just had time for a photo before it flew across the water to the far side. At home, continuous sightings of common buzzard, often 3 or 4, plus crow, kestrel and sparrowhawk, but nothing more interesting at the moment.

Pintail....Anas acuta

Serin....Serinus serinus

Stonechat....Saxicola torquata

1st January

Weather....1100....11.6oC....Sea, choppy with a swell....Visibility 15 miles....Cloud 100%....Wind NE 1....1014mb. Rain continued through from last night

A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE

Since starting the site we have had over 10,000 visits from 86 counties and are currently at 450 on the Birding top 1000.

A big thanks to Nikos, Harry, Alan and Viv for your reports, to all who have sent in your trip and holiday reports, thank you. Lastly thankyou to everyone for visiting us in 2012, we really appreciate it and have enjoyed sharing both ours and others Crete experiences. Any reports news and images are very welcome, so please keep them coming, it shows from visitor numbers, 50+ a day that Crete wildlife news is most welcome.

Hopefully more news later today, it has not stopped raining since last night and looks set to be the same for the rest of the day !!!

630pm.... Well, rain most of the day with the odd stoppage, so not too much about. Was amazed to see a large mixed flock of birds coming and going into a nearby carob tree during a real deluge, Chaffinch were the main species , but robin, serin, greenfinch, white wagtail, great tit, blue tit, black redstart, spanish/house and italian sparrow, goldfinch and linnet made this mass of birds that seemed to delight in flying out into the large raindrops before darting back undercover. Other species , just five in all, hooded crow, Yellow-legged Gull, kestrel, 5 starling and sardinian warbler. ..... and its still pouring down, with the forecast much the same for tomorrow !!! unless it improves it will be a bread making day !